Ask Rabbi Dan
by Rabbi Dan S. Wiko PhD
An interesting question was posed to me by a divorced mother
of 3 sons.
It seems that her ex-husband, who is not Jewish and not the least bit fond of
his ex, told their three grown sons that, because they didn't have a brit milah
as infants, they aren't Jewish, despite the mother being fully Jewish. Needless
to say, she was devastated and asked me my opinion.
My response was that opinion; mine or anyone else's has
nothing to do with the question posed. Halacha is the only valid opinion and,
that code clearly and definitively states that the child of a Jewish mother,
regardless of his/her upbringing, is 100% authentically Jewish. There is a
caveat. By not having a Bris Milah, the sons are in violation of Jewish Law. In
other words, they are considered "sinners". Albeit, fully Jewish "sinners". I
recommended that, if they were so inclined, to undergo a symbolic Bris...this
involves the letting of a drop of blood from the head of the penis (it's way too
late for a full Brit...the trauma and the recovery period would make this
prohibitive). In the event that either of them wanted to marry a Jewish woman
who is even semi-observant, they would have to endure a complete Bris at that
time.
